Logic+Emotion explores the thinking and practice of building responsive & resilient brands in a connected world

Friday, April 13, 2007

Sun-shaped Collaboration

"Collaborate. The space between people working together is filled with conflict, friction, strife,
exhilaration, delight, and vast creative potential."~Bruce Mau Design

Let's take another look at "Sun-shaped people"—but before we do that, what is your perception of collaboration? When you hear the word "collaboration" do you envision a group of people holding hands and singing Kum Ba Ya in perfect unison? To some people this is the textbook definition of collaboration. But to others who have collaborated to create something worthy—we know it's messy business. It's not neat and tidy. It's organized chaos in some ways. Authentic collaboration is more like a mosh pit than a carefully rehearsed waltz. Make no mistake, even a mosh pit has a code of ethics and boundaries. But anyone who's ever been in one (I have) will tell you that the people in mosh pits are the nicest you'll ever meet.

So what happens when we take several Sun-shaped people who bring both passion and diverse skills to the table? Here's a hint:

Get ready to mosh.

Sun-shaped people can actually work very well together when galvanized by a common purpose which each individual shares. Take a look at the visual. Each "ray" from one individual "dovetails" with another. I could envision the "Sun-shaped" team members rotating—swapping the respective dovetails as the project time line moves forward.

So this leaves us with a couple of thoughts: what does collaboration really mean anyway, and how can we persuade passionate professionals who tend to be "Sun-shaped"—to rally around a shared purpose?